Functional Breathing: What It Is, How to Train It and Why It Is the Base of Everything
Close your mouth for one minute. If you feel like opening it, your nose is not used to it. You are not the only one: most of us breathe dysfunctionally without knowing it.
Functional breathing is breathing that does its job without effort. It brings air where it is needed. It keeps the nervous system in balance. It supports sleep, the voice, movement. It sounds obvious. But breathing through the mouth, too fast, too high, is the norm for many. Here I tell you what sets functional breathing apart, how to recognise your own and how to train it.
The three signs
Nasal. Air comes in and goes out through the nose, by day and by night. The nose filters, warms, humidifies, slows the flow and produces nitric oxide, which helps the blood vessels and the airways. The mouth does none of this.
Slow. At rest, fewer than ten breaths a minute, with the out-breath longer than the in-breath. Slow breathing is the clearest message you can send to the nervous system: we are safe.
Diaphragmatic. The movement starts from the belly and the lower ribs, not from the shoulders. The diaphragm is the main muscle of breathing. And like every muscle, it can be retrained.
How to recognise your own
Three simple observations.
Put one hand on your chest and one on your belly: which moves first? Count your breaths in one minute while sitting still: above fifteen, there is room to improve. Close your mouth for one minute: if you feel like opening it, your nose is not used to it.
In the one-to-one session Davide, breath coach and facilitator, who works with Masseria Montanari, observes these things and measures a few more parameters. Then he builds exercises tailored to you.
How to train it
With short exercises, repeated several times a day for a few weeks. Slow breaths with a lengthened out-breath. Short holds, to get used to a little air hunger. Nasal breathing during light movement too.
No equipment needed. No need for an hour a day. What you need is five minutes, six times a day, for a month. The cycle of four meetings at the masseria accompanies exactly that month.
Who it is for
For those who live with stress and want a tool they always carry with them. For those who sleep badly or snore. For those who do sport and want more breath. For those who speak or sing for a living.
And for those who cannot do the intense practices. In pregnancy, with cardiovascular conditions, with conditions under treatment, functional breathing is the gentle and safe door. If in doubt, your doctor is the person to ask.
Why it is the base of everything
Those who arrive at the breathing circle or at rebirthing with functional breathing have a body that already knows what to do. The intense practices become deeper and safer. That is why at the masseria the breath has an arc, learn, loosen, transform, and this is the first door. In the stone vaulted hall, in Carpignano Salentino, in Salento, with the time you need and no hurry.
Frequently asked questions
Does functional breathing help in sport? Yes. Nasal breathing and tolerance to air hunger improve breathing economy. Many runners and cyclists use it to keep a higher pace with less effort.
What if I snore? Nasal breathing at night often reduces snoring. For sleep apnoea your doctor remains the person to ask, and functional breathing can sit alongside what they have prescribed.
How much does a single session cost? On quotation, like the cycle of four meetings. Davide will tell you when you write, along with the dates.
Book a session
You do not have to know how it is done already. Tell me how you breathe and what you are looking for on the Breath page: you do not need to write much. I will reply myself, usually within a day, and together we will work out where to start. If you are coming from far away, you can stay the night at the masseria.
Breathing practices are experiences of wellbeing and awareness offered under Italian Law 4/2013: they are not a remedy for anything and do not replace medical or psychological care.